Friday, December 21, 2012

Filipino
politicians have given their country a Christmas present of major significance
this year. Its giving may well have involved some arm twisting by President
Aquino which media spin indicates worked because a significant number of the
Philippine’s elected representatives consider the dollar to be mightier than
the Cross.

Spin aside, after some 13
years of inaction the Reproduction Health Bill has been passed by both the Senate and the Congress. In essence it encourages the
dispensation of free contraceptives to the poor and fact based sex education in
the schools.

It is this
later element that has the Catholic Church knickers in a knot. It has brought
the Philippine Chapter of the Rome based institution kicking and screaming into
the 21st Century. Filipino children will now be given knowledge
about all the means of contraception available not just the convoluted method favored by the Pope and his Vatican advisers. And if overseas studies are
anything to go by there will be a reduction in the number of that horrific contraception
method of last resort, the abortion.

Filipinos are now entrusted and assisted to manage the
number and the spacing of the children they beget. For individuals, especially those
on the lower economic runs of society, they can now escape the one step forward, two steps backwards shuffle an unplanned bundle of joy enforces. For the country the
specter of rampant over population has been mitigated. For the world the pressure
on Global Warming that each new body entails has been reduced.

For this Aussie, who now makes his home in these islands,
the most encouraging aspect has been to see the political system make a far
reaching decision for Filipinos by Filipinos. And this in the face of the
intense pressure brought to bear by foreign entities. For make no mistake about
it, with only three Cardinals, the Philippine’s influence at the Vatican is
minimal.

Whether it was the pork barrel or the well-being of their constituents
that the President used to motivate his colleagues to support this legislation
it is destined to become a Christmas present that keeps on giving.

Thursday, August 02, 2012

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
has come out against the proposed Reproductive Health Bill (RH Bill) stating that it is
anti-life and will lead to an increase in abortions. Two concepts that don’t
stand up under considered examination.

For contraception to be considered anti-life it must follow
that each sexual act is for procreation. Having sex is to make babies,
preferably brought up in the Catholic faith. Unfortunately, for the Bishops,
human biology works against this supposition. In fact the Bishops use this
biological quirk to promote their “Natural Family Planning” method of contraception.

A fertile woman, basically one aged from 15 to 45/50, is
infertile for 50% of the time. Any sexual activity outside of the 15 days
of fertility in each menstrual cycle is recreational. It’s how Natural Family
Planning works and taking this to 100% cannot be considered a big deal especially
in the light of the ills that over population visit on the Philippines.

The Bishop’s claim that the RH Bill will lead to an increase
in abortion is even less considered than their anti-life proposition. Abortion
is the contraception of last resort. Offer affordable alternatives and the
knitting needle brigade will be looking for other employment.

Sex is the grease that makes the world go round contrary to
the Bishop’s view that it is their good works. For as one wag put it “sex is like
pizza, even when it’s cold it’s still pretty good.” OK, straight out of the Ref
is not a good look, but at room temperature……

It could be argued that the Bishop’s opposition to the RH Bill
is just a case of sour grapes. They have signed on to no nooky at anytime and
whilst they can’t make the rest of us go the Full Monty with their promotion of Natural Family Planning they can at least restrict
it 50% of the time.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

POTUS Obama and Aurora Cinema Holmes have something more in
common than both being Americans. They are both mass murderers. Yep they have
both been on the judge, jury & executioner field trip, although on the
American Macho scale Holmes trumps Obama by having the cojones to pull the
trigger himself. That Obama can exceed Holmes’ 12/58 is to be expected as he
can order his operatives in their air-conditioned Drone control rooms to do his dirty work, which it seems makes
it all A OK.

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The expat

Henry Bateman is an artist and writer currently living in Australia, a return home after living in the Philippines for 10 years. The Ex Expat, is his blog about the arts (often) and politics (sometimes).
His writing has been published by Crikey.com (Australia), Artslant (US), The Expat Travel & Lifestyle Magazine & The Expat Newspaper (both in the Philippines) and The Western Review (Australia).
He has also had seven solo exhibitions and has had his work shown in 15 group exhibitions as well as 35 theater commissions as a set designer and/or lighting designer.